You need to login to submit an event!
You gotta pay for the right to use it!
Since emerging in the mid 80s as the clown princes of the hip hop world the Beastie Boys have built up an incredible catalogue of anthems.
Apparently Monster Energy Corp., the company behind the sugary energy drink, love the Beasties so much that they forgot to get clearance before using some of their songs in their advertising. Oops!
The Beastie Boys, Ad-Rock and Mike D, are suing Monster Energy over the unlicensed use of their likenesses and classic songs Sabotage, So Whatcha Want and Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun in a promotional video campaign. The suit claims that Monster did not attain the proper licensing for the songs, which were featured in their Ruckus in the Rockies event ad campaign.
The suit goes on to state that the promotional video is “comprised substantially of excerpts from the Beastie Boys Sound Recordings and the Beastie Boys Musical Compositions totaling more than three minutes in duration.” The video is said to have given consumers the impression that the Beastie Boys had “permitted the use of their name and intellectual property and participated in connection with Monster’s promotion of its products and events.”
The lawsuit is being filed in accordance with the will of late Beastie Boys member Adam ‘MCA’ Yaunch, who passed away last year. “In no event may my image or name or any music or any artistic property created by me be used for advertising purposes,” the will states.
The Beastie Boys are seeking unspecified damages for copyright infringement.
